📷 Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0
📷 Jon Nickles
📷 Dean Biggins (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
IUCN: Vulnerable
Caribou
Rangifer tarandus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderArtiodactyla›FamilyCervidae›GenusRangifer
About
Caribou and reindeer are the same species — the only deer in which females grow antlers, which they use to defend feeding craters in the snow through winter. Herds migrate thousands of kilometres between calving grounds and winter lichen ranges, among the longest land migrations of any mammal. Herd sizes have declined sharply across the Arctic due to warming, industrial disturbance, and changing snow and insect conditions.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Arctic tundra, boreal forest, and mountain ranges of the far north
🍃Diet Herbivore — lichens, sedges, grasses, and willow leaves
📏Size & Weight Body 1.2–2.2 m; shoulder height 0.9–1.4 m
•weight 60–320 kg
⏳Lifespan 10–15 years
🗺Range Circumpolar: Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia
MammalDeer
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Arctic tundra, boreal forest, and mountain ranges of the far north
🍃Diet Herbivore — lichens, sedges, grasses, and willow leaves
📏Size & Weight Body 1.2–2.2 m; shoulder height 0.9–1.4 m
•weight 60–320 kg
⏳Lifespan 10–15 years
🗺Range Circumpolar: Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia
Photo Credits
#1Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0
#2Jon Nickles · Public domain
#3Dean Biggins (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) · Public domain
Related Species
